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Looking for EQuIP in other settings in Washington State? View: EQuIP Program

For this project, unique to Qualis Health (among the other Quality Improvement Network- Quality Improvement Organizations [QIN-QIOs]), we are reaching out to Idaho and Washington State Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) to offer free infection control education, collaboration, and surgical site infection prevention consultation.

Why Infection Prevention in ASCs is Important

There is a need!
Surgical procedures performed in ambulatory surgery centers account for more than 60% of all surgical procedures(1)(2) performed in the United States. However, unlike for hospitals, rates of surgical site infections in ASCs(3) are not well known.

Widespread lapses in basic infection prevention practices in ASCs—which may contribute to the development of surgical site infections(4)—have been identified in the literature. Findings from local Medicare surveyors in Idaho and Washington State also indicate that such infection prevention lapses account for the largest number of citations in any single category of the CMS survey.

Healthcare payment reforms increasingly favor quality of care over quantity of care, making infection prevention increasingly important to the bottom line.

Failures to adequately protect patients from potential infections are one of the most common sources of ASC survey citations.

ASCs must maintain an infection control program with policies that consider and implement national best practices and is under direction of a qualified professional with training in infection control (42 CFR §416.51)

How Qualis Health Can Help
Qualis Health invites you to join the EQuIP (Education, Quality, Infection Prevention) for ASCs Program, designed after the popular collaborative EQuIP for Critical Access Hospital Infection Preventionists. EQuIP for ASCs is designed to help ASCs develop effective infection prevention programs. The training will be provided over 15 months via an in-person workshop and a series of interactive webinars (recorded for convenient viewing). Additional support will be provided via virtual office hours, teleconferences, and email and web-based communication.

Are You Interested in Advanced Training in SSI Surveillance and Prevention?
Surgical site infections are potentially catastrophic for patients, and healthcare-associated infections
are a focus of Medicare’s priorities for payment reform.

For Medicare-certified ASCs that perform skin incisions, Qualis Health will provide advanced infection prevention training. These ASCs will receive the web-based training sessions included in the EQuIP for ASC program plus:

Pre-and post-project gap assessments to understand your infection control strengths and areas for improvement, and monitor your progress - using recognized tools from the CDC (Infection Control Assessment and Response [ICAR]) and APIC IP competency and development assessment.